Mariah Carey Says Dick Clark Wouldn’t Have Let Her ‘Go Through That’

“He would have been as mortified as I was in real time,” pop star says after NYE debacle

Mariah Carey New Year's Eve 2017
Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Mariah Carey said she was “mortified” by her performance on “Dick Clark‘s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” over the weekend.

In an interview with EW Tuesday, the pop star said her epic lip-sync fail was the fault of the producers. “I’m of the opinion that Dick Clark would not have let an artist go through that and he would have been as mortified as I was in real time,” she said.

Beyond singing the praises of Dick Clark himself, who died in 2012 at age 82, Carey didn’t elaborate much further on the debacle, simply saying that it wouldn’t deter her from performing at live events in the future.

According to a TMZ report, Carey’s team believes that Saturday’s performance was intentionally sabotaged for the sake of ratings. Carey’s performance during the ABC telecast drew widespread criticism for its ramshackle nature. As her backup dancers continued to perform, the vocalist pretty much walked around the stage, repeatedly asking a technician to turn her speakers on. At one point she told the crowd, “I’m trying to be a good sport here.”

A representative for the singer told TheWrap on Monday that Carey’s ear piece wasn’t working right from the get-go. When the pop diva was ready to walk to the stage, Mariah’s team informed the production team of the problem — an issue that was essentially brushed off.

“Production said it’s because they didn’t work well in the tent and to go up to stage,” the spokesperson said. “Once on stage, [Carey] told the stage manager that the ears were not working but production decided to just go live instead of cut to commercial to fix the problem.”

In a strongly worded statement, Dick Clark Productions told TheWrap that claims suggesting Carey’s performance was sabotaged are “defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd.”

“As the premier producer of live television events for nearly 50 years, we pride ourselves on our reputation and long-standing relationships with artists. To suggest that [Dick Clark Productions], as producer of music shows including the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and Academy of Country Music Awards, would ever intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd,” the statement noted.

Comments